House Of The Dragon: 10 Spoilers For The Game Of Thrones Prequel Series Only Book Fans Know
As the final season of Game of Thrones continues to be debated among fans, the first spin-off series House of the Dragon is getting ready to start production. The prequel series will take a look at the long and bloody civil war over the Iron Throne between factions of the Targaryen family when they were at the height of their power.
The show will be set around 200 years before the events of the original series. However, those who have read George R.R. Martin's books already know many of the exciting characters who will be introduced in the show and the shocking ways the story will play out. While the show could deviate considerably, only those looking for some big spoilers for House of the Dragon should read on.
10 Death Of The King
While there have been many questionable kings in Westeros over the years, Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) is generally looked on as a competent one. The only problem was with his line of succession.
Viserys named his daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) as his heir initially, but when he married his second wife Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) they had a son, Aegon, complicating matters. Viserys, however, refused to remove Rhaenyra as his heir. Upon his Viserys's death, against his wishes, Alicent named Aegon as king and killed any members of the Small Council who disagreed.
9 First Blood Drawn
When young Aegon was announced as king following the death of the king, Rhaenyra coronated herself as the true ruler and made her plans to take the Iron Throne. Though she had fewer allies, she had more dragons. She sent her sons to recruit Westeros' lords to her cause.
Her son Lucerys flew his dragon to Storm's End to meet with the lord there, but upon his arrival, he found Aegon's brother Prince Aemon already there with his dragon. As Lucerys flew back home, Aemon attacked him in midair. Lucerys's dragon's head has torn off and Lucerys fell to his death marking the first major casualty in the war.
8 Blood And Cheese
In response to Lucerys's death, Rhaenyra's husband Prince Daemon plotted revenge. He sent word to King's Landing where two criminals known as Blood and Cheese were hired to carry out the mission.
The criminals snuck into the Red Keep and found Aegon's wife Queen Helaena and her children. They then forced Helaena to choose which of the children they would kill before killing Aegon's heir, Prince Jaehaerys anyway. If included in the show, this could make for one of the most disturbing moments in the series.
7 Battle At Rook's Rest
With so much blood spilled, the war intensified. Queen Rhaenyra sent Rhaenys Targaryen and her dragon to attack Rook's Rest, a stronghold under Aegon's control. However, this ended up being a trap. As Rhaenys burned the land, she was attacked by Aegon and Prince Aemon, both riding their dragons.
When the brutal dragon fight was over, only Prince Aemon and his dragon were left unscathed. Rhaenys and her dragon were both killed while King Aegon was left severely injured as a result and Aemon took over command of the army.
6 The Dragonseeds
As more of her dragons were killed in battle, Queen Rhaenyra saw her only strength fading and became desperate. She knew that Dragonstone had six untamed and riderless dragons with no more Targaryens to take control of them.
She then sought out the so-called "dragonseeds," people who had Targaryen blood but were not considered "legitimate" Targareyns . She promised titles and wealth to any of them that could tame a dragon. Many were killed, but four were able to master the beasts.
5 Taking King's Landing
After taking control of the army, Aemon took a bold approach to his command, marching North to capture Harrenhall from Daemon Targaryen. However, when they got there, the castle was empty and Aemon realized his mistake.
With the army gone, Daemon and Queen Rhaenyra flew their dragons to King's Landing. Unable to defend the city, the Small Council surrendered and Rhaenyra who then took the Iron Throne. However, King Aegon managed to escape the city.
4 Daemon Vs. Aemon
Despite losing the Iron Throne, Aemon was not willing to give up the fight and proceeded to burn the villages he suspected of being loyal to Rhaenyra. In response, Daemon flew to Harrenhal to issue a challenge to Aemon.
The two men took to their dragons and fought in the skies above Harrenhal. While Aemon looked to be the victor as his dragon bit into its foe's neck, Daemon leaped from his dragon, onto the back of Aemon's dragon and stabbed him through the eye. The dragons fell to the ground leaving them all dead.
3 The Death Of The Dragons
As the war continued to devastate Westeros, the people of King's Landing began to rise up and target what they believed to be the cause of all of this death and destruction – the dragons. A group of thousands armed themselves and marched to the Dragonpit where the remaining dragons were held.
As the people attacked, the dragons were able to kill many, but they were trapped inside as more people poured in. One dragon escaped its constraints and tried to flee, but it ended up collapsing the entire structure, killing all the people and dragons within.
2 Return Of Aegon
Following the attack on the Dragonpit, Queen Rhaenyra abandoned the Iron Throne and fled King's Landing with her youngest son, Aegon III. She sold her crown to buy passage to Dragonstone.
However, when she arrived, she was arrested and brought into the throne room where Aegon, her half-brother, was waiting. He fed Rhaenyra to his dragon as her son watched.
1 The End Of The War
While Aegon took back the Iron Throne, his victory would not last long. The lord of Winterfell at the time, Lord Cregan Stark, still held allegiance to Rhaenyra and marched on King's Landing.
Aegon's advisors warned him that they did not have the strength to defend the capital but Aegon refused to surrender. Instead, his allies poisoned him and seated Aegon III as the new king, bringing an end to the war and marking the downfall of the Targaryens.